good morning. strange twist. a surprise from police in utah overnight. investigators now say they've yet to find any actual bones or body parts possibly tied to the disappearance of utah mother susan powell. this, one day after announcing the discovery of human remains. why are they still confident they're close to a break in the case? controversial comments. televangelist pat robertson ignites a firestorm by saying alzheimer's makes divorce justifiable. >> if you respect that vow till death do us part this is the

kind of death. >> this morning the outrage over those words. and "today" exclusive. charlie sheen comes clean to matt about tiger blood, adonis dna and whether he really thought he'd lose television's highest paying acting job. >> i thought for sure they can't do this without me. come on. the show is about this guy. >> the revealing new interview today, friday, september 16th, >> the revealing new interview today, friday, september 16th, 2011. captions paid for by nbc-universal television good morning, everyone. welcome to "today" on this friday morning. i'm savannah guthrie. >> matt has the morning off and is on assignment in iran and she'll have new developments on the efforts to free those two american hikers who were jailed there in just a moment. meanwhile there are a lot of questions this morning

surrounding that search in the utah desert that could be connected to missing mother susan powell. cadaver dogs have kicked up a scent but now police say so far no actual body has been found. are they closer to cracking the case or is it yet another setback in the long investigation? we'll be live in utah with the latest straight ahead. plus the motorcyclist who was saved by complete strangers when they lifted a burning, two-ton car off of him speaks out for the first time. we'll hear from him in a moment. all right. a lot of questions parents ask. when is it okay to let your kid have a computer in his or her room? at what age can you let them come home to an empty house? coming up surprising results from our new survey of parents. >> survey of parents not the teens. the numbers would be different depending who you ask. >> there were differing opinions there for sure. we begin with the new developments in the search for missing utah mother susan powell as police now say they have yet to find any human bones or body fragments. nbc's miguel almaguer is in utah with the latest.

miguel, good morning. >> reporter: carl, good morning. though investigators have yet to unearth bones they say there is a 50/50 chance they have found the remains of missing mom susan powell. search teams with cadaver dogs and atvs made the discovery in the utah desert -- a shallow grave that investigators say was recently disturbed. but after a day of digging through the site, investigators say they have found no human bones, no body fragments, no clothing. still, police say two different sets of cadaver dogs have hit on something. >> they are smelling something. it's human decomposition. it could be coming from blood, could be coming from tissue, could be coming from bones, any variety of different sources, but it is human decomposition, human remains. >> reporter: this week's discovery comes 30 miles from where susan's husband, josh powell, told police he took their children camping overnight in a snowstorm the night susan

vanished. while josh has denied any involvement in his wife's disappearance, police say he won't cooperate with investigators and remains the only person of interest. >> it's taken them a while to move away from ground zero, which was the house she disappeared from and to move out into the desert now in an area where they know he has traveled. >> reporter: though detectives say susan's case has never gone cold, there was a lack of known activity for nearly a year. in recent weeks there has been a flurry of new developments. police scoured mine shafts for new clues. then last month susan's father-in-law said she may have run off with another man, claiming the missing mom was promiscuous, even flirted with him. >> i wasn't going to turn down an opportunity with this beautiful woman even though she was my son's wife. i'm sorry. she is just a wonderful person

and i enjoyed it. >> reporter: after those comments, investigators hauled away susan's journal from her father-in-law's home. today susan's father joins detectives at the utah search site. >> now they're here with a large contention doing the search and i just felt i needed to be closer. >> reporter: calling this week's discovery, quote, what we've been looking for, detectives caution there is more work to be done in the utah desert. it's still unclear what cadaver dogs may have found or who may have been at the site not so long ago. >> they said they can tell there's definitely been a disturbance there in the recent little bit. >> reporter: a recent disturbance and an unfolding mystery in the utah desert. investigators say they'll be back at the search site later today looking for human remains. meantime susan's husband josh powell has released a statement saying he hopes for his wife's safe return. carl? >> nbc's miguel almaguer, thank you for that. 7:05. here's savannah. thanks.

it's been three days since iran's president mahmoud ahmadinejad told ann two american hikers detained in his country would be released in, quote, a couple days. although their attorney is reportedly making bail arrangements, no release date has been set. ann is in tehran again this morning with the latest. ann, good morning to you. >> reporter: that's right, savannah, good morning. last night the foreign minister of iran had an extended telephone conversation with the foreign minister of oman as more evidence of the man scramble that's going on behind the scenes ever since president ahmadinejad made those comments about this release. still, secretaries of defense and state expressed optimism last night. >> our goal here is to try and get these hikers released and we've been assured steps will be taken to make that happen. >> we have seen in the past some delays that have occurred after decisions were announced, so

that at this point we are not at all concerned because we have received word through a number of sources, publicly and privately, that the decision will be executed on and that we will see their return to their families. >> reporter: we should point out that shane bauer and josh fattal are now the longest held americans in iranian history. today begins their 777th day behind bars. savannah? >> ann, it seems this move by ahmadinejad to announce the release of the hikers was timed to coincide with his speech before world leaders at the u.n. next week. how much pressure is he under to deliver before that speech at the convention of world leaders next week, and how much does this turmoil kind of reflect division in the ranks within

iran's leadership? >> reporter: that's right. well, you can tell the judiciary has its own motivation, but certainly the number one priority for president ahmadinejad is to have this release before he speaks before the united nations general assembly, stands on the world stage, and he is scheduled to arrive in new york on monday, savannah, so the clock is ticking. >> all right. ann curry on the story again in tehran. ann, thank you. let's check on some of the other top stories of the morning. natalie morales is over at the news desk. good morning, natalie. good morning everyone. television evangelist pat robertson is under fire for comments he made about alzheimers disease on his "700 club program." he gave this response to a caller whose friend was dating other women while his wife was ill with alzheimer's. >> here's the loved one. this is the woman or man that you have loved for 20, 30, 40 years, and suddenly that person is gone. they're gone. they are gone. if you respect that vow, you say

till death do us part, this is the kind of death. >> robertson went on to say he encourages the spouse to divorce before dating again. the alzheimer's foundation of america responded, saying that his comments feed misconceptions about the disease. federal officials have now pinpointed the source of that deadly listeria outbreak to a single cantaloupe farm in colorado. jensen farms has recalled its entire harvest of melons. authorities say no other farms have been implicated in the deadly bacteria that has killed at least two people and sickened 22 others in seven states. thursday the first lawsuit was filed against jensen farms in connection with the outbreak. a dramatic 11th hour stay of execution for a texas death row inmate came from the u.s. supreme court late last night. dwayne buck was scheduled to be put to death by lethal injection thursday evening for a double homicide back in 1995 but the supreme court gave a reprieve after his lawyers argued his death sentence had been racially

motivated. defense secretary leon panetta is warning congress pentagon budget cuts could add 1% to the nation's unemployment rate. if lawmakers cannot agree on debt ceiling talks the pentagon will be forced to make an estimated $1 trillion in cuts, triggering widespread layoffs. aruban officials will re-enact the alleged drowning of missing u.s. tourist robyn gardner to test her travel companion's account of her disappearance. authorities will not disclose the exact date of the exercise to prevent curious spectators. maryland businessman gary giordano, meanwhile, is still being held in aruba in connection with gardner's presumed death. he says she drowned while they were out snorkeling. a massive swarm of thousands of bees attacked four people in southern california thursday. some 60,000 bees stung a man in a wheelchair who had apparently disturbed their hive in a storage yard. unable to flee, three bystanders managed to pull him to safety. all four men had to be taken to the hospital after being stung dozens of times.

now let's head to wall street where investors are watching europe as banks there get a life line. cnbc's melissa lee is at the new york stock exchange with more. good morning, melissa. good morning, natalie. yesterday the world's top central banks announced they would provide additional dollar loans to european banks to ensure they have enough liquidity to operate through the end of the year. the concern had been that banks weren't lending to banks with possible exposure to greek debt and funding would ultimately dry up. meantime, today, treasury secretary timothy geithner is in poland and joining a meeting of eu finance ministers to discuss possible solutions to this european financial crisis. natalie? >> melissa lee at the new york stock exchange, thank you. and a very lonely seal has found a new home. take a look. this little red-haired seal pup first spotted all alone in russia abandoned by his sleek, black coated family to fend for himself. but there is a happy ending for the blue-eyed ugly duckling if you can call him that because he is so darned cute. he has actually been taken in by a russian dolphinarium.

things that make you go, oh, right? >> he is so cute. >> a dolphinarium. >> don't you have any other seals? >> a seal anarium. >> so cute. star quality my producer said. the big blue eyes. >> yes. we have the weather channel's >> we are filling the fall temperatures in baltimore. morning sunshine pending into afternoon clouds.

winds at 5-10 miles per hour to re carl, over to you. >> thanks. now to the motorcyclist pulled from beneath a burning car by a group of good samaritans. he's speaking out for the first time about his remarkable rescue. nbc's george lewis is in murray with details. george, good morning. >> reporter: good morning to you, carl. brandon wright is still trying to make sense of it all. the fiery crash that could have taken his life, the daring rescue by a group of strangers, and that amazing video. and he says he wants the world to know how grateful he is. he has multiple fractures in his right leg, fractured pelvis,

burned left foot, and scrapes all over his body and he is in a lot of pain. but he has something to say. >> i just wanted to thank all of the heroes that put their lives on the line to save mine. i'm forever in debt. i can't thank them enough. >> reporter: heroes who saved him from this. brandon was struck by a car while riding his motorcycle and was pinned beneath the car as the motorcycle gas tank ruptured and burst into flames. >> i came to for about five seconds while under the car. i screamed a couple times and threw up some blood. it was lights out again. >> reporter: some of the rescuers thought brandon was dead, but then this woman got down to look and yelled out, he's breathing. brandon says when he first saw the video of the rescue he couldn't believe what he was watching. >> everyone swarms in and picks up the car and then i seen my

body and i looked dead. that's unreal to see yourself like that. >> if he had stayed there any significant length of time longer his injuries would have been much more severe and perhaps even lethal. >> reporter: on tuesday when some of the rescuers met reporters they said they were uncomfortable being called heroes. brandon wright has some advice for them. >> they should get used to it. they're definitely heroes. >> reporter: brandon's girlfriend says amen to that. >> i'm sure i don't know them because i'm not from that area. but i love them. i would like to meet them and thank them. really grateful. >> to risk their lives for a complete stranger, that's what makes them so special. >> reporter: and he wants to meet them and thank them in person as soon as he's able. brandon says after his brush with death the one thing that brought him to tears was the sight of his motorcycle all crushed up. he plans to buy another motor

bike and keep on riding. carl? >> probably not a surprise, george. thank you. george lewis in murray, utah. it's 7:15. here's savannah. >> thanks. this week the census bureau released disturbing numbers showing poverty in america is at the highest level since 1993. now the group save the children is raising the red flag about the number of poor children in this country. nbc's tom costello is in our washington, d.c. newsroom with the latest. tom, good morning to you. >> hi, savannah. nearly one in six americans is living in poverty. 60 million are children. that's 3 million more than three years ago. it crosses every state line, every ethnic line. from the deserts of california to the streets of d.c., poverty is rarely far away in america. >> hey, hey! come on, dwayne. >> reporter: brenda weaver never thought she'd be poor, but after her daughter died from an asthma attack she and her husband were left to raise three grand kids. >> don't want to be dependent on

people because i've always worked and since i was 15. >> good job. >> perfect. >> reporter: in yucca valley, california, bonnie hughes lost her teaching job just as matthew's hours were cut back. now they're losing their home, their car, their insurance, and struggling to feed their three kids. >> we got to feed the kids. we got to pay the bills. what is more important? bill collectors were calling. >> reporter: the hughes and weavers are hardly alone. this week the census bureau reported that 46.2 million americans lived below the poverty line last year. that's $23,314 for a family of four. 22% of children are now living in poverty. 22%. among hispanic kids it's 37%. and 40% of african-american children are living in poverty. >> our nation has aroused the hopes of the poor. >> reporter: it was 50 years ago that sergeant shriver led president johnson's war on poverty. today his son, mark, runs save

the children in the u.s. >> it means not having enough food to eat every week. it means going to food pantries, going to the church and begging for food at times. >> we made $42 too much to get on foodstamps. >> reporter: for the hughes and the weavers -- >> with everything happening, the wash machine broke and the roof needed to be fixed. >> reporter: and another 46 million americans many with children, it is life on the edge. >> sometimes you got to do what you got to do. >> those kids can be raised out of poverty if we had a national commitment to do it. >> mark shriver fears programs like head start which serve poor children might face cuts in the next round of congressional budget cuts just as more and more families find themselves struggling to put food on the table. savannah? >> all right. tom costello in washington, thank you. it's now 7:18. here's carl. >> thanks. if it walks like a duck and quacks like a duck, it's a duck. just don't tell that to an

actual duck in england that thinks he's a man. here's nbc's michelle kosinski. >> reporter: in a tiny country village -- >> this is usual. >> reporter: so a duck walks into a bar. what? not a joke. >> did he just drink? >> yeah. >> reporter: let's see if he puts that on his bill. you come here often? he does, actually. star is the duck who struts like a duck but thinks he's a man. very short, feathery, confident man following his breeder, barry heyman, yes, everywhere. >> we're bilingual. i talk duck. >> reporter: do people think this is really odd when they see you? >> yes. >> reporter: that's right. ever since star was just a ball of fluff with a grin he was

upset around his fellow ducklings and they around him. >> oh, it was heart breaking. so i picked him up and put him in my shirt pocket. >> reporter: and like that, man's best feathered friend. >> totally inseparable. >> reporter: star imprinted on barry as orphan ducks and geese will with the first creature they see. out shopping? guess who's the chick magnet? >> come on. >> reporter: back home, yes, inside where it's boots, boots, boots, duck, his favorite meal is worms. >> okay. there you go. >> reporter: okay. he'll eat them out of my hand? >> if you lower your hand. >> reporter: when it's time to settle in, star snuggles. >> yeah, i know. >> reporter: and barry is happy to have been there for the little duck who needed a pal.

>> the last couple years i had a heart attack and i started to get depressed, but that duck rescued me. he saved me as well. >> reporter: friends can come in unexpected species. >> all right, young fellow. >> reporter: certainly birds of a feather. >> why did i think the last shot would be him driving? >> i love michelle's reaction when she feeds him. ah, ah, ah! >> i know. suddenly i don't think we'll see michelle walking around with a duck. probably not. >> looks really sweet until he pops on your lap as somebody here said. >> exactly. we don't know if he comes when you call his name star. all right. just ahead charlie sheen opens up about that wild episode earlier this year that cost him the highest paying acting job on television. >> i don't know. tiger blood, adonis dna stuff like that was just so silly and people took it so seriously. i'm thinking, all right. i'll just --

>> does he have any regrets? matt's exclusive interview. first, this is "today" on nbc.

just ahead why now may not be the time to finance even with mortgage rates at record lows. >> plus redmond o'neal back behind bars this morning. my sister's new boyfriend told her that he thinks sundays are just for watching football. believe that? [ thinking ] relax. you ordered off mcdonald's dollar menu at breakfast. everything's so good and just a buck. so go. he's a jerk.

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>> live, local, latebreaking. this is wbal-tv 11 news today in baltimore. >> good morning. i am stan stovall. here is kim dacey and traffic pulse 11. >> the accident southbound i harrisburg expressway at the maryland state line, that has moved off to the shoulder.

we did pick up a crash at liberty and brunn broke in randallstown. water main break, and closed between patapsco for fire activity. northeast corner, down to 17 miles per hour. bad situation westbound on 50. crashed shut down the ramp to 97. you can see on the left side, traffic was pretty much stopped. bake for a fair shot down. consider an alternate route for the time being. northwest corner of the beltway at old court road, backing down to edmondson ave. >> if you are heading out this morning, cool temperatures on hd doppler. not showing a thing as far as cloud cover. high temperatures around the greater baltimore area, 54

downtown, 45 at the airport. it has been awhile since we have seen all these blues. oh, move it along. afternoon clouds, winds north at 5-10 miles per hour. temperatures from 63-68 degrees. temperatures in the 40's. >> check the bottom of your screen for updated news and traffic information. back at 7:55 with another live update.

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7:30 on this friday morning, september 16th, 2007. a shot of one world trade, the view from the top of the rock and clear, crisp, would you say cold? >> i say cold. we're in cold now. >> cold morning in midtown manhattan as we head down to street level. a packed plaza with people starting their day with us. inside studio 1a i'm carl quintanilla with savannah guthrie, ann is on assignment and matt is off today. coming up we'll have his interview with charlie sheen. >> a surprising one in a way.

the man with tiger blood and winning attitude is talking about that episode earlier this year. we'll hear from charlie exclusively just ahead. plus, your kids may be begging for them but when is it okay to let them have computers in their own rooms or take a cell phone to school? we'll talk about the results of our surprising new survey with parents. do you remember when you first got a computer in your room? >> i never had a computer in my room or a cell phone, no. >> we're working on getting you one now. >> don't get into it. i could only talk on the phone one hour a day and there was a lot of busy signals at my house. anyway, carl, thanks. we'll begin this half hour with redmond o'neal son of ryan o'neal and the late farrah fawcett back behind bars this morning after he was caught with illegal drugs during his latest court ordered treatment. nbc's kristen dahlgren is in los angeles for us this morning with the details. good morning. >> reporter: good morning, savannah. redmond o'neal is waking up back in jail this morning. the judge seemed to leave the

door open for the possibility he could be sent back to rehab leaving his attorneys saying they still have hope. redmond o'neal admitted his relapse. >> you, in fact, did use methamphetamine in violation of a specific, direct court order? >> i did. >> reporter: the judge read a letter from the rehab facility detailing how the son of farrah fawcett and ryan o'neal snuck out last weekend. >> redmond was able to access a pay phone and subsequently delivery of methamphetamine to a location just outside our facility. >> reporter: but three weeks after the same judge warned the troubled 26-year-old he would go to prison if he ever used drugs during probation -- >> no second chances. no passing. no nothing. you're gone. >> reporter: this time the court seemed to have more questions for the rehab facility than for redmond. >> like you would order a pizza he called somebody that does drugs and said, look. i want you to deliver drugs to me and i'm at this location. how did that happen that he had

access to a phone? >> clearly, we fell short on the monitoring. >> reporter: for o'neal, the past few years have been full of struggles. seen here in "farrah's story" he was already behind bars for drugs during his mother's final days released only long enough to say good-bye. >> you look better. >> reporter: by now admitting his relapse o'neal took a risk. >> it was i admit the violation. i accept responsibility. impose the consequences knowing full well that when he did that, right then and there the court could have sentenced him to state prison. >> reporter: redmond was jailed for now but the judge won't decide whether o'neal will go to state prison until sentencing next month when the judge could decide to give o'neal another chance at rehab with tighter supervision. >> is there someone there that can be assigned to him, you know, like his shadow, that will be with him at all times? >> reporter: psychiatrist dr. carol lieberman saw redmond before his last sentencing and made recommendations to the court. >> it was very frustrating to me

to see redmond relapse because he really was in a good place when he went into the treatment center to begin with. >> reporter: according to the judge a trust fund set up by o'neal's mother could pay for any stricter monitoring if he is sent back to rehab. the court will also decide how much contact redmond's father ryan, his half sister tatum, and the rest of what the judge called a dysfunctional family, can have. >> there's a whole complex structure in a family of an addict that works towards their continuing to use. >> oh, neal's attorneys say they are the ones who asked the family not to attend thursday's hearing. they wanted the focus on redmond. they called the family very loving. we'll learn his fate when the judge sentences him on november 7th. >> thank you. now let's check the weather with maria larosa in for al. >> good morning. tell me your name and where you're from and what's the deal

with the 10,959 days old today. >> my name is andrica smith and this is my birthday and i am 30 years old. >> happy birthday. >> thank you. >> are you keeping warm today? a great birthday weekend in and around the northeast as we prepare you for saturday and sunday. it is still going to be cool in the northeast. getting a little bit milder in the great lakes but notice the mid section looking at a chance for showers and thunderstorms. a slight risk in through the southern plains. by sunday temperatures rebound a bit in the northeast. rain holds tight in through the mid section and the pac >> we are getting our first taste of the fall this morning. morning sunshine gives way to afternoon clouds. winds out of the no. 5-10 mil

and it is football night in america. let's get you ready for the big games on a sunday. we head to hotlanta by sunday not going to be terribly hot. outdoor weather not really too bad indoor. we have the philadelphia eagles taking on the atlanta falcons as michael vick heads back to where it all started. savannah, back over to you. >> sounds like football weather, maria. thank you so much. coming up next charlie sheen speaks out about his behavior that cost him his title as tv's highest paid actor. what does he regret the most? matt's exclusive interview right after this. ♪ [ female announcer ] nutri-grain -- one good decision... can lead to another. ♪ ♪

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♪ back now at 7:39 with charlie sheen looking to make a comeback after a rough year personally and professionally. we'll get to matt's exclusive interview in a moment. first nbc's jeff rossen who spent a lot of time with charlie during the controversy has the latest. >> good morning, carl. this year charlie sheen lost his kids and his job and, he says, he quit drugs and alcohol too. now charlie says he is a changed man making amends with his ex-wives and hollywood.

>> please welcome the rock star from mars, charlie sheen. >> there he is, back in the spotlight. exactly where charlie sheen likes to be. his latest project? a roast on comedy central. the guest of honor? the man, himself. >> prostitutes cost a lot of money, charlie. hasn't anyone told you that actresses will sleep with you for free? that's hollywood 101. >> sheen, considered a hollywood a-lister, was the highest paid actor on television, making nearly $2 million an episode on the sitcom "two and a half men." but things started to unravel last year when sheen allegedly went on a drunken rampage against a porn star at new york's famed plaza hotel. there was a stint in rehab and then rehab at home. network executives had enough and fired sheen from "two and a half men."

i spoke with charlie as it all unfolded in february. >> you're angry. >> i'm not angry. i'm passionate. that's like everybody thinks i should be like begging for my job back and i'm just going to forewarn them that it's everybody else that's going to be begging me for their job back. >> reporter: in the end they offered his job to someone else. ♪ ashton kutcher. sheen endured a bitter custody battle over his twin boys. the kids, removed from his mansion on camera. all the while sheen was living with two women he called his goddesses. >> it's pretty normal. you know? >> reporter: sheen is no longer with the god edesses but he did coin some strange phrases that live on. >> duh. winning. they picked a fight with a warlock. tiger blood. adonis dna. tired of being like a total rock star from mars. >> reporter: today charlie sheen is repairing relationships

starting with his ex-wife mother to his twin boys brooke mueller the couple spotted together celebrating his birthday earlier this month. he is 46. >> i'm doing great. i'm killing it. it's going to be a blowout you know? >> sheen is also developing a new sitcom called "anger management." still unclear what network will buy it. as we know he likes to make a splash. his "comedy central" roast airs monday night the same night as the season premiere of "two and a half men" which reportedly features his character's death. must be a coincidence. >> jeff rossen, thank you for that. now to matt's exclusive interview with charlie sheen. they sat down earlier this week and began by talking about charlie's current emotional state. >> how are you? >> doing really good. >> yeah? >> really good. >> physically? >> i feel great. >> how about emotionally? >> emotionally is a whole different story, matt. >> tell me about it. >> got about seven hours? >> well where are you? >> no, good emotionally. >> i got this sense last time we spoke and i was watching you on these other interviews that you were in a bit of a manic and i

don't mean that as a diagnosis. >> sure. >> i mean it more as an adjective. >> yeah. >> a manic period. you were running in a hundred different directions physically and emotionally. >> sure, yeah. >> how would you describe your emotional state now? >> it's really a lot calmer. it's a lot mellower, yeah. no, that was a time when, you know, what -- what happened -- i don't really know what happened. it was one of those things where, boy, the planets were either aligned to -- perfectly or imperfectly -- but i just said some stuff and then it caught such traction globally and instantly that i couldn't -- i couldn't really put out the fire, you know, so i had to kind of keep fueling it. all it was was -- >> why did you think you could put it out? because you were in control of what you were saying and you were the one granting the interviews and the assurances. >> sure. why couldn't you manage to put the brakes on it? >> well, because it took on a

life of its own and people grabbed on to these catch phrases, these metaphors as it were. and they just ran with it. it seemed like it caught people at a time when they needed something different to root for, or to get inside of and feel the energy, you know. it's, again, impossible to explain how something like that can happen. i don't think it can ever happen again. >> what was it like to be in the middle of it? could you even get your arms around how big it became? did you understand -- >> no. >> how many people were talking about you? >> no, no. it was like being shot out of a cannon into another cannon and then just shot out of that one. yeah. it was like one, from one moment to the next. i didn't know what was going to happen. it was pretty exciting. and then a whole -- >> scary or exciting? >> both. both. yeah. but, you know, i had the whole thing i don't believe in fear and defeat is not an option and i had to live by those mottos

regardless of how i felt. but yeah, looking back on it, i mean, i don't think i would trade it but there's portions of it i might have amended a little bit. >> like? what would you have done differently? >> just, i don't know, the tiger blood, adonis dna stuff like that is so silly and people took it so seriously and i figured all right. i'll continue to give people what they want. you know? >> when this began, charlie, you were the highest paid actor on television. since that time you don't work for the show anymore? >> i don't. >> did you realize it was going to end that way with you not being on "two and a half men" anymore or did you think this was a little forest fire that broke out but that would be put out in time to save you and the show? >> i thought when i was still doing my tour that there was a shot. >> did you want there to be a shot? did you want to stay with the show? >> there was a time when i did, absolutely.

oh, yeah. regardless of how i felt about some of the people or how it went wrong or why it went wrong, i still wanted to have some measure of closure with the show, you know. that's the part that really hurt the most was not feeling like i could ever really finish it. >> was there a thought in your mind, though, that they needed you so badly that you could behave pretty much any way you wanted and at some point they would have to come back in the end and mend fences? >> i thought for sure that ah they can't do this without me. come on. you know. the show is about this guy. which is a little confusing, matt, when you think about it. they create a show about a guy, you know, who's a partier. that guy starts partying then gets fired. it's like, make up your minds, people. you know? >> one is a role and the other is real life here. >> yeah, yeah, yeah. but, yeah. i guess those lines can get a little blurred, you know. >> you, i think it was maybe back in february or something you said you were going to get clean. you were turning your house into

a sober valley lodge. right? >> said that as a joke. >> well, are you sober? >> yeah. absolutely. >> when is the last time you had a drink or something more? >> i don't really keep track of the time. it's been a while but i don't -- because i feel like without getting into my whole feelings about aa and all that stuff, i just feel like, you know, if you're walking around hanging on to your time that it's only, you know, a matter of time before it goes. >> you're no longer with the goddesses? >> uh-huh. >> is that correct? >> yeah. >> so what is the biggest way your life has changed on a daily basis? >> my children. seeing my kids a lot more. mending fences with denise and brooke. just trying to move forward and prioritize what matters. you know, just really get back in touch with just more -- with some more reality and some more -- it's what i call the moments inside the moments. i think that's where the life

is, you know, it's in those quiet moments. it's not the giant tv deal or the big party or the award or whatever. it's the memory of your child's smile at the end of the day that sort of brings that one lonesome tear. you know that tear, right, matt? >> i've had those tears, more than one lonesome one. >> right. but it's those moments that matter. >> how hard is it to men fences given what you've been through in the last year? >> there's always a chance, you know, to fix things or to forgive or to be forgiven. and you just got to be -- or i have to just be mature enough and focused enough and on point enough to know that at the end of the day it's not just about, you know, wanting solution or wanting harmony. it's about what i can bring to it and how i can lead by example again, you know. >> you seem like a very different guy. you know, i'll be perfectly -- >> sane?

>> i didn't say that. but i'll be perfectly honest. this isn't what i expected. >> oh, really. thank you. >> you're much more interr introspective today than you were when we spoke on the phone six months ago. >> well, i think it's important that people see that i see and that i feel that that was just one crazy chapter, one weird phase, and that i was, you know, this guy before it started so i could be that guy again afterward, you know. >> so we've talked about how your life has changed on a daily basis. how much impact do you think this episode, i don't know what else to call it. >> i don't either. odyssey. >> how much did that odyssey impact your reputation in your opinion? >> it's hard to say. the fanfare that it created was pretty crazy. and still exists to this day. i still hear, you know, winning and tiger blood and all that stuff. as i'm walking down the street. i think that the winning slogan was important because it gave people a chance to just feel

something different, to feel victorious even if it was real or imagined. you know? >> and charlie had much more to say about his old show, his new projects, and what the future holds. we'll have more of matt's exclusive interview in our next half hour. but first these messages. welcome, to the simply orange tour. this is our plant. these are our workers... and this, is upper management. but what you won't find around here is any freezing,

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>> live, local, latebreaking. this is wbal-tv 11 news today in baltimore. >> good morning. i am stan stovall. here is kim dacey and traffic pulse 11. >> we have picked up an accident in harford county in the bel air area. route 543 at fountain green wrote. water main break between alum and willow. crashed in randallstown, liberty. 95 at south of the beltway, down to 29 miles per hour.

crash on southbound 95 right at mccomas. road block on a fourth street between annabel patapsco because of fire activity. the westbound 50 ramp to 97 has reopened. traffic is moving there, but big delays. this is a live look at how we are looking at 50 and 97 bit left side of your screen is now moving again. slow, slow, slow. lots of delays there as well. that is the latest on traffic pulse 11. >> i hope folks are enjoying the crisp, cool fall weather we are having right now. hd doppler showing us under the influence of high pressure. temperatures around for the greater baltimore orioles, downtown, 55 degrees. 40s here.

parkton 46. edgewood, 49 bit as far as the rest of the day, morning sunshine giving way to afternoon clouds. temperatures from 63-68 degrees. >> check the bottom of your screen for updated news and traffic information. traffic information.

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8:00 on this friday morning, september 16th, 2011. what a difference a day makes. it's around 50 degrees here in rockefeller plaza as we say hello to everyone who pays us a visit this morning. there are two camps on the plaza today, carl. there are those who say it's not that cold. >> not that bad. >> then there are those like this lady, my pal, she is all bundled up. i was wearing a coat and none of you guys were and maria larosa called me a wimp so i'm toughing it out here. good morning, everyone. i'm savannah guthrie alongside

carl quintanilla. ann continues on assignment in iran. matt has the morning off. we've been watching this fascinating interview with charlie sheen and there is more coming up. >> that's right. does charlie think ashton kutcher will do well in "two and a half men?" will he watch the show? would he consider making a guest appearance? we'll get charlie's answers to those questions and a whole lot more. plus some of the tough choices facing parents. we talked about it a minute ago. the computer in the room. of course when we were kids they didn't have computers. when is it okay to let a child have access to a computer in his or her room? at what age can you let them come home to an empty house? coming up we'll have surprising new results from our survey of parents. >> really interesting data from those parents. mortgage rates are at record lows or near them anyway but is it necessarily a good idea to refinance now? we'll talk about what you need to consider before you actually go. >> first let's check on the news with natalie morales. good morning.

in the news this morning what appeared to be a possible break in the search for missing utah mother susan powell may have been premature. just one day after saying cadaver dogs had found human remains in a utah desert police now say they haven't actually recovered any physical evidence. investigators will keep digging today. the senate has passed a bill that averts another partial shutdown of the faa this weekend. it extends the faa's operating authority through january. the measure also extends federal highway programs through next march. some new evidence today that the obama administration was worried about a troubled solar energy company even as it continued to publicly praise the firm. a house committee probing the collapse of solyndra exposed e-mails showing a white house budget official feared the company's bankruptcy could hurt president obama's re-election campaign. solyndra received $500 million in federal stimulus loans. australia's capital city sitting under clouds of potentially toxic smoke this morning after a factory fire

forced residents to stay indoors and prompted schools to close there. this morning firefighters say they were able to get the blaze under control despite high winds and explosions in the factory. a florida judge has ordered casey anthony to pay nearly $100,000 for investigating the disappearance of her daughter caylee. prosecutors and police had wanted her to pay $500,000 but the judge would only assess anthony for costs incurred when police thought caylee was still alive. and now here's brian williams with a look at what's coming up tonight on nbc nightly news. brian? hey, natalie, good morning. coming up tonight, as if we needed this, something new has flown into our country, a new and tiny mosquito bites during the day and is carrying diseases. they're moving on this in california. we'll have an update tonight for you on "nightly news." for now, natalie, back to you. >> thank you, brian. now for a look at what's trending today our quick roundup of what has you talking online, new video of a white house party

crasher mikaela salahi kissing a journey guitarist at a labor day weekend concert has people buzzing. the photographer was none other than salahi's clueless husband. tmz reports mcayala has since run off with the journeyman. star wars fans already excited about today's blue ray release have something else to tweet about. the space telescope has discovered the first known planet with two suns that is reminiscent of planet tetween in the first "star wars" movie. just in time for the fall hunting season this commercial for a california taxidermist is making the rounds on facebook. >> you probably thought this deer was alive and this coyote was alive and this pheasant was alive. nope. they're not. they're dead. they've been taxidermiized by chuck tester. >> whether or not the commercial is dead serious, you might say chuck has the right stuff. that business is booming. it's 8:04 right now. let's go back outside to savannah and carl.

>> i'm surprised you made it through. >> we were about to lose her. i can tell. thank you. now for a check of the very cold, chilly weather, maria. >> does anyone have a jacket savannah could borrow? >> please, somebody? okay. i guess we know how they feel. >> now i feel responsible. put it back on next half hour, savannah. what we love about "today" show fans they are dedicated. where are you from? >> donna tippets from florida. >> you drove literally all night to be here. >> yes we did. >> we're so glad to have you. >> thanks. >> get some rest. you look great. all right. let's head to our pick city, steubenville, ohio where they're feeling the chill today. 58 degrees but partly sunny skies. and you can see for the rest of the day today a lot of areas will be feeling the chill. we're looking at highs only in the 40s and 50s for much of new england, great lakes, on into the upper midwest. toasty warm in south florida, southern texas, and the southwest. storms are possible today in through the northern rockies but

otherwise fairly quiet across >> we are getting our first taste of fall this morning. if you are heading out to work or school or the golf course, morning sunshine gives way to afternoon clou carl, back to you. >> all right, maria, thanks. when we come back much more with matt's exclusive interview with charlie sheen including whether or not he will watch the premiere of "two and a half men" right after this. -i love this card. -with the bankamericard cash rewards credit card,

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back now at 8:10 with more of matt's exclusive interview with charlie sheen. when they sat down earlier this week charlie was a much different person than the one we saw earlier this year and matt asked him about what's next for his career and his upcoming roast on "comedy central." >> it was raunchy. i thought i had heard everything twice. clearly, i hadn't. yeah, no. they said prepare yourself. i said, well, it's just words. it's just words. i'm sitting there and it was not just words. >> despite all those years of abusing your lungs, your kidneys, your liver, the only thing you've had removed is your kids. >> oh. they were very biting and very --

>> said with love or -- >> absolutely yeah. >> or do you think it was purely for entertainment's sake? >> no, it was entertainment but i think if you're going to roast a guy like me there can't be any boundaries, there can't be anything that's off limits you know? i was sitting there and i -- i thought, okay. i volunteered for this. you know? and that was an odd feeling because, who would do that? but then i thought about it some more and it's not a -- it wasn't an attack or burial. it was a celebration for a life that's presented itself as being very roastable. >> the roast by the way is airing on the same night that "two and a half men." >> what a coincidence. >> comes back to the air with ashton kutcher. who would have thought? what are your thoughts about -- >> i don't do anything small man. >> what are your thoughts about "two and a half men" with ashton? do you wish them well? >> absolutely. i think he is going to be great, yeah. has such charisma and great timing and he's such a handsome young man. >> will you watch it?

>> of course i will. of course i will. >> with pain? >> a little bit, yeah. but i'm also really curious about what happened to me because i don't look at it, you know, just as what they're doing forward. i look at it as what i left behind for them to continue and how they're going to figure all that out, so really my hat's off to them if they can pull it off. you know? >> the potential is there for one amazing guest appearance down the road. >> from your mouth. you know? yeah. absolutely. if they thought it was a good idea, completely onboard for that. >> you have other projects. >> i'll be in the final episode. don't you think? >> i would think. the biggest ratings you would ever imagine. >> unless i'm really dead. there was no body at the funeral. there was no urn. >> we're talking about the character. >> yeah, yeah. >> had me nervous there for a second. i thought we got past that and you're okay. >> right, yeah.

>> that would be interesting. tell me about your other projects? i know you have one on television and one in the movies. what's exciting you these days? >> both, actually. yeah. it's a film with roman capola called a glimpse inside the mind of charles swan iii. catchy little title. yeah. it's a character piece. it's about a guy who is stuck and he's stuck because he's lost the love of his life and he's trying to figure out just what went wrong. you know, what was his part? and it's really well written and it's really smart and i think roman is the only copola without an oscar, so i'm going to deliver one to him. >> you need to do something about that. >> yeah, yeah. >> in terms of television projects? >> "anger management" yeah. >> loosely based on the movie of the same name? >> very loosely. we don't know, we don't have the setting yet. we don't have the cast yet.

it's very early in it. i'll play the group counselor and i think wherever that group takes place it should be pretty interesting. we're not doing an audience. we're not doing -- we're doing a different model, so we're going to shoot all the shows consecutively. >> so as you begin to flex your muscles again and get back into the career and work, what is the one thing you want people out there who were your fans and are your fans to know about charlie sheen today? >> that i'm not going to let them down. i'm not going to let them down when they put down money for a ticket or if they turn to the channel that i'm on that i'm going to continue to deliver the things that have kept them interested in the past three decades. >> and you're all right. >> i'm doing great, yeah. it's really a pleasure talking to you. i've been a fan for a long time.

>> thanks. >> it's kind of a big deal for me. >> for me, too. >> oh, really. thank you, man. what a pleasure. thank you. >> appreciate it. >> it is so interesting to see how much he has changed from earlier this year and, you know, all the features of his personality that everyone loves, you know, the personality, the humor, the wit, it's all intact but he just seems to be more thoughtful and for lack of a better term sober-minded individual. >> i think it's interesting, too, the perspective of someone who has been through a media firestorm like that and sort of lived to tell about it has been fascinating to listen to today. >> you almost get the feeling he may regret he did that roast but in any event it's still airing monday night on "comedy central" and you can it then. coming up next that age-old question for parents, when is it okay? when is it okay to let your kids wait for the school bus alone or have a computer in his or her room? parents weigh in. surprising results from our survey coming up right after this.

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try new extreme clean pure breath action from aquafresh. back now at 8:18 with parenting today. it is hard to say no to your kids and with today's technology boom parents are entering uncharted waters. we teamed up with parenting.com to conduct an online survey asking parents when they think it's appropriate for kids to do certain things like have a cell phone. vanessa van patton is the author of "do i get my allowance before or after i'm grounded?" i love that title. rachel is parenting.com's editorial director and harriet coal is here. our questions involve sort of the older kids because that's when you start the clash at home between a preteen and a parent. the first question is when is it okay to let my child have a computer in his or her room? we have three options, age 12,

age 14, age 16. most say age 16. rachel? >> that's right. some of the moms on parenting.com and today mom said the question doesn't go old enough. can i say older? my kid can have a computer when they go to college. >> really. >> people feel very protective about this. >> harriet, technology today, i mean, are we at risk of being a little naive about how quickly they've warmed to technology? >> i think so and often because they have smart phones they have a computer wherever they want to be. we have friends who have the computers in a family room for everyone -- parents and children -- so they do their work together, the home work together, and whatever else they're doing so that it can be monitored. i think the big issue is it must be monitored whether the computer is in the room or wherever else it is parent have to be vigilant. >> you have to have maybe multiple user names, a school one, a personal one. >> right. so a lot of teenagers say the biggest problem for us is trying to balance school with being on facebook and chat so the best thing parents can do is set up a school user and a personal user.

on the school user, chat is disabled, no games. and then when they're on personal stuff it's monitored more heavily. >> second question, when is it okay to let my child talk on the computer with friends at night? evenly age 13, age 15 get about 40%. >> that's right. people thought it should skew older for this as well. they don't want the younger kids on there but as they get older, parents are okay with it but, again, it's important to set up limits and it's important for your kids to know that you're watching. you don't have to sit over their shoulder but we think that kids should know that their parents have the log in for that account. if they're aware that at some point maybe not now but at some point an adult is going to see what i'm doing it can have a real helpful effect. >> what time of night would you say, harriet? >> that's the thing. if it's at night it's just like talking on the phone. anything you're doing at night has to have a cut off. i would say by 9:00 for just about anybody on a school night it needs to end and i do think they can come and look over the shoulder and ask, come in and interrupt, you know, because --

so the parent is present. oh, you're annoying but mommy and daddy need to be annoying sometimes. >> when is it okay to let my child bring a cell phone to school? most say age 13. i wonder if people want to skew older on this one as well. >> yeah. the important thing is to check with your school. every school has very different policies. and the biggest thing is remember a lot of the school computers now are being brought home and on average there's 34 text messages that are sent after bed time alone. >> really. >> yes. so it's really important that 9:00 mark is good and for school especially to make sure they're keeping that school computer clean. >> there's the whole safety aspect, rachel. you want your kid to be able to reach you. on the other hand some call it a computer that parents can't see. >> it's used for -- every school has an office and in that office there is a phone and they have the emergency contact numbers. when your kid's at school they're probably most able to reach you of any time. and again, a lot of schools have policies against cell phones. some of the moms said why does

my kid need a cell phone at school? what is it for? >> but it's often because it's after school that if your kid is alone, independent of you, that a lot of parents want children to have phones. the thing is you can have lots of limitations placed on those phones so they can't do everything. >> two more questions, which i'll get to quickly. when is it okay to let your child wait at a bus stop without adult supervision? wow. this one is skewed to age 10. it's hard to imagine an 8-year-old waiting alone. the other question which i want to skip to is when is it okay to let my child come home to an empty house? this is a little more personally think. don't you think? >> this is very much a judgment call. this is when it comes down to you as the parent knowing your situation, knowing your child's maturity, knowing your neighborhood, knowing what your options are. we've discussed how there are a lot of good options for kids that are not coming home. >> i think you shouldn't let your kid come home to an empty house. there are free programs, programs with a cost, but there are things your child can do after school to not be in that house alone. >> i think the communication aspect is you have to be able to say, i'm going to explain this

to you but the bottom line is i'm the parent. i'm making the decisions. and as somebody i think said here, they're not going to thank you until they're 25. >> that's true. a lot of kids though they roll their eyes at you or are sort of snarky are really listening. >> thank you. fascinating. here's savannah. >> thanks. now let's send it down to washington and our good friend mr. willard scott. hey, willard. >> reporter: birthdays with cake and candles and beautiful ice cream. who could have for more? and beautiful people. from the smucker's lineup take a look if you will at these. the lovely james mcdaniel related to our friend jack. and from arkansas, a hundred years old today, life-long farmer and still lives in the same house where he was born. how about that? likes vegetables and fruit trees and does a good job with those. and we have claude garrett from montgomery, alabama, 100 years

old today. lives independently and still drives to church every sunday. may the lord be with you. and robert lachance of clinton township, michigan. 100 years old. proudly served in the u.s. navy, seaman here, and we wish him a very happy 100th birthday. good man. good man. god bless the navy. here is mary chavis, of opelousas, louisiana, 100 years old today, still lives independently and loves to listen to good music on her radio. and i guess she's got a stereo. how old am i? what do they call them? anyway, mary mitchell. bangs, texas, 101 years old. good longevity and attributes it to facing each day with a smile and looking after her friends. can't do better than that. glenn and ann schmidt of champaign, illinois, 75 years

they've been married, still very much in love. ooh. cupid, you did a good job. and they love to have friends over for dinner. that's it. that's all. now back to new york. >> all right, willard. thanks. just ahead, with mortgage rates at all-time lows should you look to refinance or not? but first, your local news and weather. >> live, local, latebreaking. this is wbal-tv 11 news today in baltimore. >> good morning. i am mindy basara rep. let's get a final check on the morning commute with traffic pulse 11 and kim dacey. >> we have picked up a crash by your the harrisburg expressway at belfast. we have wanted but we're right at the 795 ramp to watch for. we are dealing with all water main break in the city.

southbound 95 just past mccomas st., we have an accident with the right lane blocked. closed between n a l and patapsco because of a fire activity. westbound 50 at severn river bridge, that accident has moved off to the shoulder. live look outside at 50 and 97, you can see that has cleared and traffic is moving pretty well. old court road, a different story. outer loop is jammed up from 705 to edmondson ave. >> folks on facebook have been reminding me, happy purple friday. wore my ravens ties. for the rest of the morning, morning sunshine, giving way to afternoon clouds. temperatures anywhere from 63-68 degrees. the temperatures and weather

will stay with us through sunday. don't worry, wednesday and thursday, at 80, 81. >> thanks for joining us. another update at 8:55.

8:30 on this friday morning the 16th of september, 2011. it's like mother nature flipped a switch. it's like fall came in overnight. a chilly morning here in the northeast and across much of the country but it didn't stop these folks from coming down to

rockefeller plaza. i'm carl quintanilla outside the studio with savannah guthrie and natalie morales. matt has the morning off. ann is on assignment. coming up, don't mind these light savers in a moment. >> we'll explain in a moment. >> coming up the best new restaurants in the country according to bon appetit. a wide ranging selection from cities all over the country, seattle, south carolina. we'll get to try some of the food just ahead. one of those days where you're like i don't need to be paid to be here. >> eat from some of the best restaurants in the country. not one on the list from manhattan. we'll find out about that. >> interesting. also ahead we all know mortgage rates are at all time lows but does that mean you should race out and refinance? we'll have good information to help you make a good decision there. okay. then also we'll meet an nfl star who's dedicated himself to doing even greater things off the field. jenna bush hagar caught up with him. you'll get to see that coming up. first, even darth vader would agree the fight against cancer requires a powerful

force. that's why the folks at stand up to cancer have teamed up with -- would you guys --? >> i'm sorry. >> -- have teamed up to kick off a "star wars" themed auction called "use the force for good." sue schwartz is a cofounder of stand up to cancer. sue, good morning. >> hi. wow. >> the force be with you. >> may the force be with you. >> light sabres completely distracting us from what we're here to talk about. >> tell us more. what's the program? >> so the program is to celebrate the launch of the complete saga of the films on blue ray. we're encouraging fans everywhere to use the force for good and stand up to cancer. >> you have a lot of items up for auction including this cool custom made "star wars" bw, which is great. i know you have a free dinner with francis ford copola, george lucas. how do people get in on this? >> the auction goes live this

afternoon. go to ebay.com/star wars and there are incredible things. this is a one of a kind volkswagen 2012 which has scenes from all of the "star wars" films on it. as you mentioned, we have that incredible dinner with francis ford copola, george lucas, and some other filmmakers. there's one of a kind "star wars" memorabilia being offered and 100% of the proceeds benefit stand up to cancer. so what better way to use the force for good, get cool stuff, and fund cancer research, which is so needed. >> these are some big ticket items but if people do want to give to the charity itself what can they do? >> if you want to give to the charity, no amount is too small. every little bit helps fund research. go to stand up to cancer -- stand up 2 the number 2 cancer --.org and you can donate and check out our great

t-shirts. >> yoda. >> the light sabres work for us. >> aren't these cool? >> thank you, sue schwartz. may the force be with you. >> may the force be with you. >> maria larosa, these are not the droids you're looking for. >> good morning, guys. all right. we want to update you on a few big weather stories we're talking about, one being hurricane maria still a hurricane right now. maximum winds about 80 miles per hour moving to the north right now at about 45 miles per hour. we have concern for the canadian maratimes. closer to the lower 48 we are looking at that big chill, the high pressure settling in for the great lakes and northeast bringing sunshine but also cooler temperatures. highs only into the 40s and 50s. to the south of that boundary the heat hangs on including south texas, south florida, and >> we are getting our first taste of the fall this morning. morning sunshine gives way to afternoon clouds. winds out of the no. 5-10 m

on a sunday, thousands of people will be lacing up their running shoes and heading over to central park for the susan g. komen race for the cure. joining me now is dr. richardson. thank you so much. you are the ceo of the comben for t for the cure greater new york area. >> right. >> the cause is personal to you. you are a breast cancer survivor 14 years now. >> that's right. >> why is this race so important? >> the race gives us an opportunity to celebrate survivorship and also helps us raise significant funds to help find the cure for breast cancer and really celebrate those who have lost their battle with the disease. >> all right. thank you so much for taking time with us this morning. great cause. looks like great weather forecast too. >> i hope people come out and support us.

www.komennyc.org. love to see you there. >> thank you so much. back to you, carl. coming up next the best new restaurants in america. we'll tell you where to find them. but first, this is "today" on nbc.

every year the folks at bon appetit magazine publish their list of the best new restaurants in america and it might come as a surprise but not one restaurant here in manhattan, the restaurant capital of the world, made the list. adam rappaport is editor-in-chief. good morning to you. >> good morning, savannah. >> what gives? actually if some of you did not grow up in new york city i'm proud of the rest of the country. you can get great food around the country. >> exactly. the big guys don't win every year. the yankees don't go to the world series every season. let the rest of the country have some fun. >> let's round out the top ten. >> number ten, bondir in

cambridge, massachusetts. congress in austin, texas. son of a gun in l.a. back to the east coast, long island city, which is queens. >> and criteria for making the list? >> andrew nolton our ace food critic ate out 250 nights last year. someone's got to do it. just like you have to taste all this food. you know, it's his list. the readers love him. he knows what he is talking about. these are his choices and we stick with them. >> let's get to it and start with number five. we find this restaurant in chicago, illinois. rukshin. >> named for the chef, his childhood nickname. can i unveil? a bit too early. all right. now teddy is kind of korean fusion cooking, really popular in new york city and at a-frame in l.a. right here we have an awesome

salad. rugela plum, cheese, almonds and the sweet, the spicy, the crunchy, peppery. you can make this at home easily. a lot of people think salad, tomato and lettuce. salad can be a lot more. get some crunch and flavor going on. this is korean spice popcorn like a bar snack at the restaurant. >> very good. i could not eat that delicately. >> you can make it at home. no problem. >> what is number four? trevail kitchen and amusements. where is that? >> this was a surprise one in suburban minneapolis and it just goes to show there are great restaurants everywhere in the country. there are so many good chefs. great ingredients anywhere. this is a restaurant that has a ten-course tasting menu for $60. they make their own foods. >> this is pan roasted barumundi also known as sustainable sea bass. >> okay. fish. just checking. >> popular in australia and becoming much more popular in

the states. berries, tomatoes, etcetera. fancy. >> what it comes out to is fancy food at a great price in suburban minneapolis. >> okay. >> how about seattle? the walrus and the carpenter. >> walrus and the carpenter named for a lewis carroll short story. this is an oyster bar, bustling oyster bar. a good oyster bar, all local. these are all from washington state. you go there and you sit at the bar, great wine. you can go for the oysters and stay for the big plates. this is smoked trout with a lentil creme freche salad. >> and another one san francisco. >> mission chinese food. this is a restaurant that originally started as a popup, a sort of a once a week restaurant, old school, no frills chinese restaurant in the mission district. the two chefs, husband and wife team turned it into a full-time restaurant and now it's one of the most popular in the country. this is a lamb cheek noodle

super which is basically lamb stew. >> they call it tingly lamb. >> that's what they call it. i don't know what that means. >> why? i'm almost afraid to find out. >> it's amazing. >> looks great. part of a bigger trenld. chefs aren't putting a lot of money into the day care ecor. it's all about the food. no frills but great eating and that is important right now with this economy. we don't need to spend a million dollars on the decor. focus on the food and keep the prices very fair. >> number one? >> i got ting ls. that was good. >> let's get some drama going? charleston, south carolina amazing food city. our number one restaurant in the country according to andrew nolton our food city, husk in charleston, north carolina. what is so great about husk, the chef there, this is his sort of ode to the food he grew up eating from his grandmother's cooking in the south. every ingredient on the menu is from the south. this is his skillet roasted

chicken, a technique that a lot of high end chefs love. you poach the food, get the temperature just right, super moist, crisp it in a cast iron skillet. amazingly moist. crispy at the same time. herb pea soup. it's in there. >> did you make all this here or order it from there and fly it in? >> i got here at 3:00 a.m. and did everything myself. >> incredible. >> all right. adam rappaport from bon appetit thank you so much. let's dive in. up next should you be looking to refinance with mortgage rates at new record lows? you need to know. first, this is "today" on nbc.

back at 8:45 this morning on today's money is it time to refinance? according to freddie mac 30-year fixed mortgage rates have fallen to yet another record low this week but activity remains muted and home foreclosures are now picking up. sharon epperson is cnbc's personal finance correspondent. good morning to you.

>> good morning, carl. >> some of these rates are rates people thought they'd never see in their lifetime. >> i mean, ten years ago we were talking about rates at 8%. now we're talking just a hair over 4%. it's a tremendous drop. >> why are they so low? >> of course all of these problems in europe, the debt crisis has caused a lot of investors to want to invest in something safer, treasuries, and mortgage rates follow treasury yields. as those have come down so have mortgage rates. >> if they're so low and supposedly such a good bargain, why aren't people rushing out to do it? >> a lot of people may not have enough credit to do it or they may not qualify. that is probably the biggest concern. right now a lot of folks are just not qualifying for a refinance. >> if you're thinking about it or wondering is it right for me, how do you know? who should refinance? >> well, probably the first consideration is i want to save money every month on my mortgage. that is the first thing you look at. but you have to look at your break even calculation. what i mean is how much of the closing costs are going to be and how long it will take you to recoup those costs in the money you're saving every month.

also, remember that you're restarting the loan term so if you're in a 30-year mortgage and you've already been in that mortgage for ten years you're restarting that clock. do you really want to do that? >> so think about how long you've been in the loan and how long you're going to live in this particular house. >> absolutely. a lot of people may have thought they were going to get out of a house much faster than they are able to so now refinancing if you're going to be there a long time may make sense. >> when we see numbers that are close to 4%, are people actually going to banks? are they getting that number? >> well, i tell you, when i saw that i was like let me call my lender and see what i can do. you have to crunch the numbers. what i found is when you look at if you have points or closing costs it may not make sense for you. and a lot of the fees when you attach that or points to these rates, they go up. it's not necessarily the 4%, 4.09% that freddie mac was talking about. we may be talking 4.25% or maybe higher. >> people always talk about banks being unwilling to lend in this country. how strict are the standards? if your credit has been pretty

good your whole life could you walk in and they might say sorry not good enough? >> you very well could be denied. and it's not just about credit anymore. really the biggest concern is will you qualify in terms of the equity you have in your home. the good rule of thumb is you have to have at least 20% of equity in your home. if we're talking about your home value being $200,000 that means your outstanding low balance caot be anymore than 160,000. when you are looking at the home value that isn't what you paid for the home but what the value is for the home right now, what the bank says the value is for the home right now. >> the other big concern is rates may be coming down but home values are also coming down. >> as those values are coming down you're losing equity in your home and therefore you're unable to qualify. >> how about some of these, i've heard people say i just switched into a shorter term loan like a 15-year loan instead of a 30. why is that happening? >> it makes it a lot more attractive because if you're able to get a 15 year right now the average rate is about 3.33%. if you're able to switch from a 30-year to a 15-year it may make a lot of sense to do that.

you've shortened the loan term, you're not starting the clock again and having another 30 years but reducing that term. it's a good reason to refinance. >> is it your sense bottom line that these rates will be here for a while or is this like a come now because they're going to be gone tomorrow? >> we've seen low rates for a long time. unfortunately, we've seen home values still depressed for a long time. so it's still going to be difficult for people to refinance but it's definitely worth looking into crunching the numbers. >> good stuff, sharon. thank you so much. >> sure. >> coming up next, jenna bush hagar on the nfl star determined to give kids a brighter future. but first, this is "today" on nbc.

back now at 8:51 with our special series "today's extra yard." the nfl is filled with not only extraordinary athletes but also some players who do a lot to give back to the community. "today" contributing correspondent jenna bush hagar is here with one of their stories. >> good morning, savannah. this guy is incredible. after spending eight seasons in oakland, he was unsure what team he'd play for this fall due to the nfl lockout. but rather than worry about his own future, he spent the off-season helping high school students figure out theirs. >> nobody saw this one coming. >> from an eagles source -- >> he was soaring as one of the

newest members of the philadelphia eagles. he's been described as fast and furious on the field. and off the field, his teammates call him something else. senator. >> i came in here and that was the nickname, senator came out. so i have to roll with it now. >> reporter: it's a nickname he earned serving not just his team but also the communities he's lived in. a lesson he learned growing up in los angeles with parents who came to the u.s. for a better life. >> any time that other family members from nigeria wanted to come over, they would house them. so there would be times when we'd be at home where there would be, you know, ten, 11 people in the house that was meant for service mentality always in the house and helping out. >> reporter: in his family, education, not athletics, reigned. >> culturally i think it's a big deal, this education thing in

nigeria. it's nonstop. it's the only thing that is discussed. >> reporter: after graduating with a degree in finance from the university of california berkeley and joining the nfl's oakland raiders, he started the college tour for scholars known as acrs. each year he takes a dozen inner city high school students, some who have never been on a plane before, on a tour of universities across the country. >> we know that with exposure, you know, you can reach all sorts of new heights. you don't know how your life is going to turn out. but understand that there are possibilities out there. >> reporter: daisy franco, an l.a. native, was 17 when she visited georgetown university with acrs. >> i didn't have this school on my radar at first and when i came my junior year with nomdi i fell in love with the school. >> reporter: she is the first in her family to go to college and now a freshman knows nomdi believes in her. >> the reason he did this tour was to show us we have to get an

education and further ourselves and can't stay in the same place. >> the experience was the greatest of my life. >> reporter: amber adams visited washington, d.c. on the same trip as daisy. she now attends howard university, 3,000 miles away from her home in oakland, california. >> well it kind of motivated me. everyone on the trip was super smart. it made me realize i have to work hard, too, and then maybe i can go to a school like this. >> reporter: humbled by the kids he serves and inspired by the sport he loves, nomdi jokes his highly educated family still expects more. >> i have three siblings, and they -- >> yale, columbia -- >> yeah, michigan, stanford. it's a big deal. so it turns into how many degrees, you know, do you want to get? so everyone looks at me like -- and i only have one. it's like, what are you waiting on? when is the next one coming? i'm like, look. i've got a job right now. i'm a little busy. >> reporter: what about a super bowl victory? >> it's still my goal here. you know, do my best no matter what is asked of me.

>> reporter: regardless, he's already a champion to these two college students. i just want to say thank you. >> he is an unexpected blessing. i didn't expect this to happen in my life and it did and it was all because of him. >> and one thing nomdi told me, he is trying to get the kids to come to the super bowl if he makes it there himself. he really is an amazingly humble guy for somebody that's so smart. >> i love how he gives kids this vision for themselves of what they could achieve. jenna bush hagar, thank you very much. >> thank you. >> eagles look good too. >> nfl! >> you can learn more about the college tour on our website.

>> live, local, latebreaking. this is wbal-tv 11 news today in baltimore. >> good morning. i am mindy basara to read and 19-year-old bowie state university student is in police custody in connection with the death of her roommate. police found dominique frazier in a hallway of her apartment building last night with cuts to her upper body. she later died at the hospital but police say her roommate turned herself in to police at midnight. ♪

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>> now let's take a look at the forecast with lowell melser. >> if you like fall weather, you'll like what i have in store for you today. morning sunshine giving way to afternoon clouds. winds at 5-10 miles per hour. you will need a jacket out there. rest of the weekend, and looks like pretty much the same. a little bit more clouds on saturday and sunday. as we move on a later in the week, mid-70's on monday and tuesday. 80s by wednesday and thursday. >> we will have another weather update at 9:25. navigating today's real estate market is complicated. you've seen the signs. that's why having the right real estate agent is more important than ever. at remax.com, you can find experts in short sales or bank-owned properties or commercial real estate, agents who can help speed up the process,

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